This presentation summarizes and evaluates the status of knowledge and services relating to HIV for the South Asian communities in the U.S., with recommendations. The South Asian communities, taken together, comprise one of the largest of the AAPI sub-groups. Health research and service planning have been impeded by failure to collect disaggregated AAPI data, by confusing "race", "country of origin" and "ethnicity", and by a general lack of knowledge on the part of public health and social services sectors about the specific cultural features characteristic of the South Asian community, especially as they relate to HIV risk. In six parts, this paper: a) reviews data on HIV/AIDS knowledge, attitudes, and prevalence relevant to South Asian Americans; b) reviews data on risk-taking and risk preventive behavior, including drug use, sexuality, and the role of traditional culturally specific assumptions; c) considers the reactions of South Asian Americans to the HIV epidemic in the US and in South Asia; d) collects information about prevention, education, and treatment services available and accessible, specifically for South Asians; e) offers recommendations derived from the above reviews; and f) provides to participants a bibliography and resource list to stimulate further collaboration.
Learning Objectives: Participants will advance their ability to critique data and to make recommendations on HIV/ AIDS prevention, prevalence, and treatment for South Asian Americans.
Keywords: Asian Americans, HIV/AIDS
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: None
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.